


Happy Halloween

by returnbydeath



Category: Re:ゼロから始める異世界生活 | Re:Zero Starting Life in Another World (Anime)
Genre: Halloween, Homesickness, Subaru Deserves Happiness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:48:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27272929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/returnbydeath/pseuds/returnbydeath
Summary: Beatrice wants Subaru to feel more at home.[post S2/Arc 4 spoilers]
Comments: 19
Kudos: 69





	Happy Halloween

“Speaking of, it’s around this time that people celebrate Halloween, huh?” 

Mumbling to himself while his spirit and he settled in bed together, Subaru stared at the ceiling with a light sense of yearning in his eyes. “I didn’t expect to feel so homesick,” But he chuckled, altering his frown into a smile as he glanced back at Beatrice. “Beako, you’re actually all I need to feel happy!” 

Giving her a pat on the head as they beamed at each other within proximity, Beatrice replied, “Mmf. Well, if you say so, Betty will just have to believe you, I suppose. Subaru is likewise the world’s cutest contractor, in fact.” Hiding her delicate smile underneath the bedsheets, she welcomed the pats gleefully. 

“Calling me cute? That’s a bit disappointing, don’t you think?! What about handsome, or valiant, courageous, virtuous, anything?!” With an overblown sense of shock put into his speech, the boy’s face twisted into a faux frown once more.

Putting together her hands underneath the sheets, Beatrice replied, “Betty’s wondering about what you said before. About Hal-oh-ween, I suppose. Is it a holiday—No, a weird holiday of some sort?” 

“I have to hate how you corrected yourself?! But you’re right. It’s a celebration of spookiness, or something. I don’t know the exact details, but it’s a night where everyone dresses up as scary things and they knock on neighbour’s doors to ask, ‘trick or treat’! At the end, you usually get candy. It’s pretty fun, or, was, pretty fun. I haven’t been trick or treating since I was a kid.” Looking at his spirit as if he had come up with the most stupid idea possible, he stupidly grinned. “I can imagine you in the most adorable Puck costume, Beako.”

With a pinkish blush coming on her face, Beatrice tried desperately to look away from the mischievous boy that was clearly plotting something that included her. “B-Betty doesn’t know about the Puck costume, but the trick-or-treating sounds like something Subaru would do, I suppose.” 

“I’m hurt. What do you even mean by ‘it’s something I would do’?” 

“Subaru would knock on random citizen’s doors and ask for candy, in fact.” 

“You know, that’s even more hurtful than it originally was…!” Clutching his heart comedically, Subaru pretended to fall back. “But, you know, Beako should get to sleep soon. If you don’t, then the bogeyman will come and eat you.” 

“B-Betty isn’t scared of any such bogeyman, I suppose.” 

Subaru replied with a smile, and Beatrice pouted, turning off the lagmite that was illuminating the room, engulfing the last light accessible to them, withdrawing them in pitch black isolation. 

“Night night, Beako.” 

Audibly sighing, the sound of bedsheets ruffling as he turned for his back to face Beatrice. Beatrice smiled, happy with another day invested with her contractor. She wished it would last forever. 

“Goodnight, Subaru, I suppose.”

Closing her eyelids shut, Beatrice reached for his hand, which was coincidentally reaching out for hers. Intertwining, their hands fastened around each other’s for safety, as they both fell asleep together.

※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※

Spreading sunrise, pinkish glow, clouds tinted, colours spread across the sky announcing the new day, oranges and reds painted across the clouds as if by a celestial hand. Glimmering gold rays seeped through the curtains, making the room seem like a photograph taken too long ago, nostalgia. The carpet was buttered lemony yellow by the wash of the new light overtaking the room, just enough yellow to make you smile without trying. 

Two were present in that small room, just the two, enough to keep each other company until the end of time. One was awake, pouring his thoughts out on to a page, reorganizing them, packing them back in again. Scribbling and scribbling till finally he lets go of his thoughts, leaning back on his chair with a stretch, gazing out at the horizon, wondering how photographers and artists found so much meaning in this time of day. The sun had been rising since the beginning of time—just what was so special about it happening now? Maybe they had some lens or filter that he’d missed out on. 

Another was lay in the chaotic mess of the bed, oiled with a daffodil colouring running across her face that made her squint whenever she fluttered her eyes, about to wake up but too reluctant to. Burrowing herself into the pillows, the little girl groaned, finally allowing the light to settle within her butterfly pupils. 

Propping herself up and rubbing out the rest of sleep in her eyes, she watched her legs dangle above the creamy white carpet as she became reluctant to stand. 

“Good morning, Beako.” Subaru whispered, gazing at the adorable mess that was Beatrice, struggling to get herself out of bed. “You’re usually awake before me. Having a good dream, hmm?” With teasing eyes, he provoked her in the early hours of the morning.

“Betty would have woken up earlier if it wasn’t for Subaru’s snoring, I suppose.” Shooting her shot right back at him, she smiled in his direction. 

Sighing in response, Subaru closed the notebook opened in front of him, holding within many incomprehensible scribbles by this world’s standards. Standing with a grin, he sat on the bed next to Beatrice, pulling her close in order for her to sit on his lap. Beatrice accepts the welcome invitation, happy to have contact with her contractor. This kept him and her alive. Sitting in silence for a while, they enjoyed each other’s presence, basking in the sunlight together. 

A polite knock interrupted them, a sweet voice coming through the door, “Good morning, Subaru, Beatrice! May I come in?” 

Beatrice pouted as Subaru pat her head, crooning over to the girl behind the door, “Yeah, sure. Come in, Petra.” 

“Alright! Coming in,” She replied, a smile apparent behind her current anonymous voice. With the near silent creak of the mahogany door, Petra, the mansion’s little maid, entered with a polite bow. 

“Frederica asked me to fetch you for breakfast in about twenty minutes. Emilia, Otto and Garfiel are already present. Ram, as always, is not.”

“Isn’t that a bit of a harsh jab at Ram, ‘as always’?!” 

“No! Subaru and Betty are always late too, and big sis Frederica gets angry because Subaru always asks her to recook the breakfast because it gets cold!” The instant she said it, Petra covered her mouth. “Sorry, that wasn’t very polite…” 

“Before Petra gets even worse expectations of us, Beako, we should probably go.” Subaru gripped Beatrice like a toddler, pulling her off his lap and on to her own feet on the floor. 

Beatrice nodded her head in agreement, holding Subaru’s hand with a straight face as they followed Petra out of the room and down the corridor, into the dining area. Inside sat the group of three, Emilia, the half-elf looking cluelessly about the room, Otto, the innocent man, dragged into the Emilia camp by the nagging Subaru. Finally, Garfiel, the former Sanctuary resident. Not to mention the angry-looking maid, staring at the table at which the three sat. A board of Shatranj, a game Subaru deemed similar to chess, sat on the kitchen table. Garfiel and Otto were supposedly playing against each other this early in the morning.

“Ah, mornin’, cap’n!” With a familiar salute and toothy grin, Garfiel greeted Subaru with delight written on his face. Otto sighed at once, looking at the happy Garfiel, supposedly having stayed up all night to deal with internal… affairs, stuff. 

Subaru laughed in response, “Morning, Garfiel. And Otto, you’re not looking too good. Stayed up all night wondering what to do with your life?” Jabbing at the poor man’s heart, Otto widened his eyes, looking awake for the first time in the morning.

“T-That’s a really mean assumption, you know?! Despite being dragged here against my own will by you, Natsuki, I have already planned out what I wanted to do with my life, being a merchant, opening my own store… The dream, I’d say!” Otto retorted back, laughable shock appearing on his face as usual. 

“Yeah, yeah. Well, Ram, why are you looking so angry?” The young Japanese boy pointed at the pink-haired maid, familiar enough to one that had become erased from the world. The thought of that would usually make him frown, but not now. It’s the wrong time to be upset.

“Ram saw your disgusting face and decided it’d be a bad day.” With a satisfied smirk, the maid girl crossed her arms, turning her attention to the floor. 

“As always, big sis, your retorts are the worst!” Subaru squealed, turning his face towards his crush, the half-elf Emilia. Instantly a warmer colour appeared on his face, blush tinting his skin a light shade of pink. “E.M.T…” 

“And as always, Subaru, I’m discombobulated at what you mean by that. But somehow, it makes me happy.” 

“…Discombobulated…?” Exhaling out disappointment at Emilia’s old-fashioned word choice, he sat down with the rest, still holding Beatrice’s small hand. 

Beatrice still felt awkward around everyone else, despite them not minding her presence alongside Subaru at all. Wasn’t it weird for her to be out of the library so suddenly? Well, it’s not as if they had witnessed her 400 years in solitude. They had all been here for only a few years, other than Roswaal. Despite all this, she snuggled up to Subaru on the chairs sat around the dining table, all lay out precisely by Frederica with a little help from Petra. 

Conversing some more, the few who inhabited the mansion spit out retorts and stupid arguments at each other over the table as breakfast was served by the graceful Frederica and the faltering Petra, apologising as she stumbled. Everyone mostly ate in silence other than the compliments given to the maids for the delicious meals, as always, and the room afterwards filled with less and less silence, till everyone was back in a fully fledged conversation. Smiles spread around the dining room, none of them getting bored with each other. 

“Right. I’ve gotta go, then. It’s nearly time for Clind to help me with parkour again, and he doesn’t particularly like it when I’m late.” 

Otto furrowed his brows, “Ram said you’re a man with good timing, but you always seem to be late to important things, you know…” 

“Alright, see you later!” With a wave, and no acknowledgement to Otto, Subaru left the room with a beam enough to light a room.

“Ignoring me?!” Otto put his hands down on the table as gently as possible, expressing his minor anger at the boy for ignoring his comment.

Silence filled the room, someone just about to bring something up before dropping the idea completely. This is when Beatrice, the quiet until now spirit, stood from her chair, appearing small underneath the table. Sighing, she sat back down, clearing her throat despite it not needing to be cleared.

“Betty has to bring up something, now that Subaru’s gone, I suppose. He mentioned something about a ‘hall-oh-ween’…?”

“Halloween? Ram has heard Barusu mutter something ignorant along those lines, at least once. Feeling homesick, what a child.” Ram, pouring her strength into her speech, leaned on the table as she sat, looking directly at Beatrice with a careless glare. “What about it, Lady Beatrice?”

“L-Lady,” Beatrice shook her head. Now’s not the time for this. “Ahem, well, Betty thought it might be good for a party…” With every word, she progressively got quieter until she was just mumbling under her breath.

“Oh! I get what you’re trying to say, Beatrice. You want to throw a party for Subaru, to make him feel less homesick, right? That’s a great idea!” Emilia, the kind-hearted girl, had said it all for Beatrice. She exhaled with a glad smile. 

“Yes, that’s what Betty was trying to say, I suppose. T-Thank you.”

Frederica spoke after a long silence, “So, what do we know about this Halloween celebration?”

“Betty’s been told that you can go trick-or-treating, which is when you knock on someone’s door and you ask them, ‘trick or treat’. Usually, they give you candy if your costume is spooky enough, I suppose.”

“It sounds like something Natsuki would come up with on a whim,” With a satisfied smile, Otto rested his head in his hands, looking at the gathering of people. He knew that it sounded like something Subaru would enjoy.

“It sounds stupid. Expected of Barusu.”

“I think it’d be a good idea to make a party for Subaru, though! He works really hard for all of us!” Petra spoke, stars shining in her childlike eyes. “We should do it while he’s with Clind, and then when he comes back we can surprise him!”

“T'ts pr’tty short of a time, yer know. But I agree, I guess. Cap’n seems like he would be pr’tty happy, so I’m all for it.” Garfiel butted in to the conversation, offering his own opinion.

Huffing out a ‘hmm’, Emilia spoke once more, “Why doesn’t everyone get started then? I’m reaaaally excited to see Subaru’s reaction, but maybe we should try to stop him from seeing it till tonight? It does sort of seem like more of a nighttime activity, isn’t it?” 

“Betty can keep Subaru distracted, I suppose. Just don’t forget the details, in fact.” Beatrice stood once more, putting her hands on her hips confidently.

Putting her hands together with a satisfying slap, Emilia smiled, “Alright then, everyone! Let’s get started!”

※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※

Sitting on their bed once more, with the small lagmite illuminating the otherwise dark room, they embraced each other momentarily before Subaru interrupted the silence, squealing, “God, Beako… You’re so adorable, you know that?”

“Y-You don’t have to flatter Betty any more, I suppose… Well, it’s alright, I guess. Betty will accept more compliments.”

“Changing your mind mid-sentence isn’t very reassuring…!”

“Well, moving past that… Betty thinks it’s almost time. Stay here for a moment, in fact.” 

Leaving the boy in sudden suspense, Beatrice crawled out of his lap, “Make sure you don’t leave, I suppose! You’ll ruin it all for yourself and Betty.” She put a finger over her lip as to shush him from saying anything more, leaving the room with a slam as the door closed behind her.

“…Huh. I wonder what that’s all about, but first… that’s the first time she’s willingly moved off my lap?! What have you done with my Beako, world?!” Subaru had a habit of mumbling to himself frequently, which annoyed Beatrice even more than it used to. She especially enjoyed the silence, but sometimes she says she’ll tolerate it, secretly wishing to only hear more of her contractor. 

Sitting in silence for a few minutes, staring at the ceiling with a sense of longing, the boy sighed to himself. He forgot how lonely the world truly was without his allies, his friends around there with him. 

Beatrice had been an addition he had sincerely needed. Her presence really made him feel at ease, making him smile as she retorted back to his attempted provocation of her, and in those moments Subaru really wondered how he had coped on his own back then. Without them now, he’d pass his days in sorrow, loneliness engulfing him whole as he died and died, wishing for more.

A brief squeak interrupted his thoughts, door slowly opening as Beatrice poked her head in and put an item through the door. “Put this on, I suppose. Just trust Betty.” Almost comedically, she lifted her head back outside, unavailable to Subaru’s sight. He approached the item she had posted through the door, lifting it upwards and inspecting it. It was a costume of a noble vampire, teeth and everything. 

“…Is she planning to make a fool out of me in front of everyone, or what…” Subaru sighed, but needed to trust in Beatrice’s words. He reluctantly put on the outfit, fake canines almost poking out of his mouth. He exited the door to greet Beatrice in a similar costume, grabbing his right hand as she lead him into the dining room without a word.

“Hey, Beako, you’re looking super cute, but I’m really confused at what’s happening right now…” Shushing him once more, Beatrice gripped his hand with minor force as she opened the doors to a wondrous sight.

“Happy Halloween, Subaru!”

The voices came together and ringed in Subaru’s ears as he stood still with a dumbfounded expression.

“…Wait, what?”

The room, previously used for breakfast and lunch, currently filled with countless scary-cute looking decorations spread across the room. There was spooky-themed food set out on the tables, and everyone was in different costumes. Emilia, succumbing to stereotypes despite being unaware of it, dressed with a witch’s hat and a beautiful dress. Otto was wearing his usual getup with a comedically scary hat, scarily fitting of his personality. Petra wore an orange dress, laced with spooky-looking patterns, with bats and skulls spread across. Garfiel and Frederica stood almost back to back, wearing cat ears and tails, Garfiel looking unusually despondent and disappointed with his costume. Ram wore a witch’s hat alongside her usual maid outfit, and even Patrasche was there, holding a bag of candy at the front.

“…What’s… going on?”

It was awfully improvised.

They had thrown this together in less than two hours, at least.

Subaru knew that, yet…

Tears still formed in his eyes as a shaky smile spread across his face, quickly wiping his tears with his sleeve, close to tearing off already. 

“Betty and everyone else loves you, Subaru. Thank you for doing so much for us, I suppose.” Beatrice smiled at him.

He hugged the little girl, her even wrapping her little arms around his body. 

“Thank you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry if any of the characters here seem OOC, this is a small oneshot I decided to do seeing as it's almost Halloween. And also I wanted to try and write more shenanigans that happen between Arc 4 and 5, because I love these characters.


End file.
